Bill or letter file



(No Model.)

- 2 Sheets--She.et 2. 0.. A. GILDEMEYER. BILL 0R LETTER- FILE.

Patented Dec. 15

! I .LJ-

Witnesses g/lifil'fwy 8 a p m: "cams rams 00., mom-wrap WASNINGTON o cE, hung to a pivot-pin e.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. GILDEMEYER, OF HADDONFIELD, NERV JERSEY.

BILL OR LETTER FILE.

v SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,258, datedDecember 15, 1891.

Application filed March 30, 1891. Serial N0. 386,924. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beitknown thatI, OHARLESA. GILDEMEYER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Haddonfield, Camden county, New Jersey, have inventedcertain Improvements in Bill or Letter Files, of which the following isa specification.

The object of my invention is to construct a letter or bill file inwhich the punch for puncturing the papers to be filed is carried by thehead of the file in a compact form, as fully described hereinafter,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 isa plan view of my improved letter-file. Fig. 2 is a sectional view onthe line 1 2,Fig. 1, showingthe punch and hooks closed. Fig. 3 is a viewshowing the punch and hooks .open and ready to puncture the papers; and

Fig. 4 is a view of a modification.

A is the back-board carrying the fixed portion B of the file proper.This fixed portion is secured to the board by screws or other means.Hinged to the portion B is a lever portion D, a rod b acting as thehinged pintle. The portion D has an extension D, in which is an eye d,by which the device is hung up. At the same time this extension is usedas a handle for the punch described hereinafter.

The board A is cut away under the portion D to allow it to have freemovement from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig.'3.

Pivoted to the handle D is a locking-lever The inner arm 6' of thislever rests upon a plate a on the under side of the board A. A spring 0tends to keep the lever upon the board A pressing the lever in thedirection of the arrow Fig. 2. When it is required to drop the portionD, either for punching the paper or slipping the paper on or ofi thehooks, the long arm of the leveris raised allowing the lever to clearthe plate a, and to be moved to the position shown in Fig. 3.

Carried by the fixed portion B are two hooks F F, curved at their outerends and terminating preferably on a line drawn from the pivotrod 17, asshown in Fig. 2.

Projecting from the pivoted section D are two rods F, which are bent attheir outer ends, as shown in the drawings. Thus when the de-- vice isclosed, as shown in Fig. 2, the hooks and rods form two loops.

Situated preferably on the line of the two hooks F F and between thehooks and bars F are the punches H, the fixed arm H of the punch formingpart of or secured to the plate B, the movable arm H being secured tothe portion D. In the fixed portion H is an orifice i, and carriedpreferably by a spring I, which rests against the portion H is the punchproper of. This spring I extends down and around the pivot-rod b, andpreferably into the body of the board,'as shown in Fig. 2, and then upagainst the inner side of the fixed portion II, it being punctured at ifor the passage of the punch, and carried also by the spring I is aspring-plate I, through which the punch 1" extends. This plate acts as aclearer for the punch. Stops j may be placed either on the spring I, asshown, or on the projections H H to limit the distance the paper is toextend into the punch.

In Fig. L I have shown a modification of the punch, the punch properbeing carriedby the portion H and the spring-plate I attached to theportion 11. In some instances where a cheap punch is desired I may usethis form; but I prefer in all cases where practical to use the formshown in Fig. 2. Thus When the paper is to be slipped upon the hooksthelever portion D is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, the paperslipped in between the jaws of the punch, the lever D is then moved upto the position shown in Fig. 2, thus puncturing the paper at the pointrequired, after which the paper is withdrawn and slipped upon the hooksF F. The continuation of the hooks F F by the rods F is to allow theexamination of papers on the file by simply slipping the top papers overon the rods F, after which the paper required can be readily examined orremoved by depressing the hinged portion D and separating the bars fromthe hooks.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, in a letter-file, of thefixed portion, hooks thereon for the reception of the papers to befiled, the hinged portion, punches for punching the papers arrangedabove the hinged portion, the fixed jaws of said punches being held bythe fixed portion B, and the movable jaws of the punches being actuatedby the movable portion D, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The combination, in a letter-file, of the fixed portion, hooksthereon, a movable portion D, hinged to said fixed portion, rods on saidmovable portion forming continuations of the hooks, with punchessituated between the rods and hooks, one part of the punch being carriedby the fixed portion B and the other part by the movable portion D,substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a letter-file, of the fixed portion, hooksthereon for the papers to be filed, the movable portion hinged to saidfixed portion, the hinge-pintle b, the springbar carrying the punchproper adapted to said hinge-pintle, substantially as described.

4. The combination, in a letter-file, of the

